Pokies Popular in Australia

New figures released on gambling in Australia have revealed that Australians love to gamble, especially on slot games.

Called pokies in Australia, slot games were amongst the most popular gambling games to attract billions of Australian dollars in the year 2001-2002. According to the official Australian Gambling Statistics, Australians bet A$ 8.9 billion on pokies, A$2.5 billion on casino games, A$1.7 billion on betting, and A$ 1.2 billion on lottery style games.

This equates to an average loss of A$1,017 ($690) per adult Australian - a rise of more than A$22 ($15) per person from the previous year.

Over the past 25 years, the amount spent on games, particularly pokies, has rapidly overtaken other forms of gambling such as betting on horses and dogs.

Those living in the Northern Territories were the heaviest gamblers, followed by those in New South Wales.

Experts say that gambling is "very much a feature of Australian life".